Suction-dredge.



J. REID.

SUCTION DREDGE. V APPLICATION FILED APR. 6, 1914. RENEWED JULY 12. 191?.

Patented Jan. 22, 1918.

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J. REID.

sucnow DREDGE. I APPLICATION FlLED APR. 6.1914- RENEWED JULY 12, I917. L5%,357 Patented $2111.22, 1918.

J. REID.

- sucnom DREDGE. APPLICATION FILED APR.6.1914. RENEWED JULY I2, 19!].

Patented Jan. 22, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3- wblmeoow am I J. REID.

I sucnow DREDGE. APPLICATION FILED APR 6. I914- IIENEWED JULY I2- I91?- Pamnfr/ad Jan. 22, 1918.

4 SHEETS-SIIEET 40' WWW w 6 4 of I I I We illldllilElU @ldlhltllhl JOHN REID, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Application filed April 6, 1914, Serial No. 829,967.

T 0 all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN Rim), a subject of the King of Great Britain, and resident of Whitehall Building, 17 Battery Place, in the city of New York, State of New York, one of the United States of America, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Suction-Dredges; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

The invention relates to improvements in suction dredges as described in the present specification and illustrated in the accompanying drawings that form part of the same.

The invention consists essentially in the novel means employed for raising, lowering and holding the dredging arm and head, as well as the peculiar formation of the parts for the delivery of the dredged material and the balancing of the arm.

The objects of the invention are to facilitate the operation of a dredge in a heavy sea so that the rising and falling of the vessel and its pitching and rolling will not produce a pounding or racking action on the dredge arm, to avoid the lifting of the dredge head from the bottom and the consequent violent dropping of said head as the ship falls back into the trough of the sea, to eliminate any chance of a lengthwise blow on the dredge arm which frequently results in very serious damage, to increase the capacity of the dredge by keeping the head constantly in contact with the bottom there by keeping up continuous suction of the dredged material, and generally to provide a dredge which will be economical, eflicient and easily handled.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the rear portion of a vessel showing the dredge arm and suction pipe and the operating parts.

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view on the line A-B in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of that portion of the vessel containing and showing the dredging machinery.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of the transmlssion.

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view showing another form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing still another form of the invention.

Specification of Letters Patent.

SUCTION-DREDGE.

Patented Jan. 22, 14,918.

Renewed. July 12, 1917. Serial No. 180,240.

Fig. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the dredge arm and the most approved form of hydraulic means for operating it.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged vertical view of the hydraulic cylinder.

Like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts in each figure.

Referring to the drawings, 1 is the dredge arm well here shown in the longitudinal center of the vessel at the stern though it may be amidships or at the bow, in fact the well in the hull is not essential to this invention though shown in the stern because used in the most efficient dredges at present.

2 are bearings let into the walls of the well 1 toward the forward end of said well and made in any suitable form that will conveniently allow the installation of the dredge arm trunnions.

3 are the trunnions ournaled in the bearings 2 and of hollow formation and preferably having the central T joint 1 communicating with the interior of said trunnions, each end of said trunnions extending beyond the bearings into the hollow spaces of the vessel flanking the well 1.

5 is the suction pipe securely jointed to the T joint 1, said T oint being preferably integral with the trunnions 3 as in all likelihood it will be one casting, but such matters are merely structural and the most convenient arrangement will be used.

6 is the suction head at the lower end of the pipe 5.

7 is the dredge arm to which the pipe 5 is rigidly secured, said arm at the lower end having the ballast tanks or boxes 8 made suitable for either rock, scrap or water ballast, and at the upper end 9the ballast tanks or boxes 10, said upper end 9 being the short end of the arm and considerably enlarged forming at its terminus the are shaped rack bed 11 on which is mounted the toothed rack 12, said arm being in radius with the center of the trunnions 3 or concentric throughout its length with said trunnions.

13 is a shaft journaled in the bearings 1 1, the latter also being in the walls of the well 1 just forward of the inner extremity of the arm 7, said shaft preferably being connected with the engine 15, through the worm 16 and gear 17. 19 is a clutch between the motor and pinion. 16, said clutch operatively connecting the motor to said pinion, when it is desired to hold, raise or otherwise operate a dredge arm. The clutch may be of any suitable form, such as the hydraulic, preferably a clutch having capacity for heavy work.

20 are pumps connected by the stationary pipes 21 with the inwardly projecting ends of the trunnions 3 and drawing the dredged material through said suction pipe.

22 is'a tackle which may be used for supporting the dredge arm in stowage subsequent to the operation of the raising machanism.

In the operation of this invention, the dredge arm is lowered to the bottom of the sea, lake or river and in this position the pinion will idly travel up and down the are shaped rack according to the movements of the vessel in the sea. The engine'sha'ft also turns idly'but immediately the vessel runs into a deep part the clutch is put on by the engineer to hold, raise or lower the arm. However, this particular way of o )'erating the. arm may not be used and in place the arm may be controlled by hydraulic cylinders as illustrated in Fig. 5, or by a toothed rack fitted to a guide structure and projecting from the upper surface of the dredge arm between the tri'mnions and its outer end, thus conserving the power. In either way the control of the dredge is at the will of the operator and during the dredging, the dredge head can be conveniently left in contact with the bottom even when working in a heavy Seaway though the operator is always able to regain or maintain control of said head.

In Fig 5, 23 is a rack of any suitable shape and pivotally secured intermediate of the length of the long section of the dredge arm and extending through the guide 2% in which the operating pinion 24s is journaled In Fig. (3, 25 is a hydraulic cylinder pivotally supported in the frame 26, the latter straddling the arm well over the long section of the arm.

27 is a piston rod connected with the piston in said cylinder 25 and with said long sectionv of the dredge arm.

In Figs. 7 and 8, the preferred hydraulic mechanism for raising and holding the dredge arm is shown and in these figures, 28

is the cylinder having the piston 29 operating therein and the rod 30 connecting said piston pivotally with the dredge arm 31.

32 are hollow trunnions forming the in let and outlet passages 33 and 34, said passage 34 having a pipe extending therefrom over the cylinder 28 and connected to the inlet pipe 36. The inlet pipe 36 is connected to the water under pressure and extends to the passage 33 and also by a pipe connection .37" to the inlet and outlet passage 38 adjacent to the other or lower end of the cylinder. 7

39 is a 3-way valve at the joining of the pipe with the inlet pipe 36, so that the ingress of ater may be stopped and the exhaust opened, or that the water may be passed from one side of the piston to the other. by means of the passages 35 and 35 10 is a valve in the pipe 35 for closing the connection between the inlet pipe and the passage 34.

In this form of the invention the operation is exceptionally simple, and yet the same result is reached as in the other forms described, even perhaps more efiiciently for the water in the hydraulic cylinder ofiers an excellent means of cushioning the arm during the movements of the vessel in a seaway.

In order to raise the arm, the water flows through the inlet pipe 36 and down by the pipe 37, through the inlet- 33'and under the piston 29. This has the effect of raising the piston and consequently the arm 31. until it reaches its uppermost position and is stowed away, as explained.

In lowering the arm the water is exhausted in the same inlet 38 through the valve 3 9 and returned to the tank, if it is desirable to do so. It may here be explained that during the dredging operations it is advisable to fill the cylinder 28 above the piston with water and then cut off the pressure water, but leave the passage by the pipe 35 open or partly open regulated by the valve 40. There will then be communication established between the two ends oif the cylinder above and below the piston 29 and the movements of the arm 31 will be cushioned by the water above the piston as well as the water that may pass around under the pis-' ton, through the wave action on the dredge. The natural tendency of the arm will be to fall by gravity to its lower position, there fore the cylinder above the piston Will always. contain water, which Will hold the dredge heaclto its work though not rigidly.

Thi Water in the cylinder above the piston must be discharged in order to raise the arm 31 and to do this, it is necessary toopen the pressure water into the passage to the lower end of the cylinder. At the same time the valve 39 must permit the escape of water by the passage 35 from abovethe piston, which is forced around by the upward movement of the piston and is exhausted through the pipe 35 y The valve 39 regulates the flow of water in the several passages as for instancewhen the piston is to be raised, the valve is turned to direct'the pressure water to the passage leading into the cylinder below the piston and to direct the water from cylinder above the piston and in the pipe 35 into the pipe 35 which forms an exhaust passage.

To turn the valve 39 another Way communication is established between the upper and lower ends of the cylinder as explained.

To turn the valve 39 another Way the pres sure water is turned into the pipe 35 and to the upper portion of the cylinder this being done when it is desired to give the suction head an extra firm grip on the ground.

The pressure from the pump insures the raising of the piston against the Weight of water thereabove, further it may be said that through the balancing of the arm 31 almost at any time there is Water under the piston and this can be further increased by opening wide the valve 40 and this gives a start to the raising operation, which is continued by the pressure Water. Of course if the dredge is to be moved and the arm only partially raised, this can be done also by the manipulation of the valves, in fact this hydraulic means just described is very flexible and consequently insures easy handling, especially Where the dredge arm is provided with counter Weights at its inner end.

it is not of course the intention to adhere to any details of construction as set forth herein','\vhere changes will benefit the operation, and it must be therefore understood that such changes may be made Without departing from the spirit of the invention, so long as they are Within the scope of the claims for novelty following.

hat I claim is 1. The combination With a hull of a vessel having a Well leading therethrough and bearings in the Walls of said Well, of a dredge arm having at the outer end thereof a ballast compartment and at the inner end a ballast compartment, a suction pipe secured to said dredge arm, trunnions extending from said dredge arm to said bearings, and mean for raising, lowering and holding said dredge arm.

The combination with the hull of a vessel having a Well leading therethrough, bearings in the walls of said Well, a dredge arm having ballast compartments at the outer and inner ends thereof, suction pipes leading through said dredge arm, T extensions projecting from the suction pipes through opposite sides of the dredge arm forming trunnions fitted in the bearings and means for raising, lowering and holding said dredge arm.

3. The combination with the hull of a vessel having a Well leading therethrough and bearings positioned upon opposite sides of said Well and extending through the Walls thereof, parallel suction pipes extending through said dredge arm, a head attached to the dredge arm and communicating with the suction pipes, a T extension-formed upon the inner ends of the suction pipes and extending through opposite sides of the dredge arm and journaled in said bearings forming trunnions for the dredge arm, suction means communicating with the T extension of the suction pipes, said dredge arm having ballast compartments at its inner and outer ends, and mean for raising and lowering and holding said dredge arm.

Signed at the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, this eleventh day of March, 1914:.

JOHN REID.

Witnesses THOMAS DORIAN, M. MGOALLUM.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents Washington, D. 0. 

